Thanks a lot. That was the reason why I asked this question.
That’s true
No, it’s not late. Do it.
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I got started when I was 37. I am also a Disabled Veteran. Congratulations on overcoming your disability(ies). It is absolutely not too late. If you disabilities become too much to actually work at a job you can always work remotely like I do as a Freelance Web Dev. The main thing is not to get discouraged. Good luck!
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@koplik that you do not have job experiences does not mean you lack of other skills or that you can not develop these soft skills. You need to be self-confident and believe in yourself so you can transfer that confidence to others. If you do not believe you are cable of being a programmer no body will do it.
YOU CAN DO IT! Just build things, some people may reject you, you will not be the first not the last one to be rejected, it’s normal, you will have to compete against other candidates, so, show your passion for coding, build things and show you are eager to keep on learning, sooner or later somebody will notice you. Follow the tips from my article. I am 32 and not Job experience in programming except from my projects and my passion for coding.
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It is never to late. You say that you don’t have tons of experience with react or node.js. Neither doesn’t anyone else. The only difference is that some people are afraid of trying to learn new technologies where others jump right in. I recommend that you get out there just start coding again every single day.
Let me tell your a personal story. I am father with 5 kids all under the age of 9. We have struggled for years to make ends meet but I did some research and determined that the employment outlook for those in tech was much better than those outside of tech so I decided to start learning to code. I started coding about 5 years ago. I was 27 then and I have never been able to make more than 45K a year but was with working constant overtime between several jobs at once. At first I felt like I was drowning. Basic concepts were difficult and I felt like I would never get it. However I kept trying. I knew the reason that there were a small number of developers compared the amount of work out there for them was that it was difficult and the reason that companies were willing to pay developers more than their other employees because they were willing to learn to do things that others couldn’t or weren’t willing to learn.
My advice to you is despite your disability, stick with it. It doesn’t have to just freecodecamp either. Looks at LinkedIn Learning, Pluralsight, Teamtreehouse, code academy, etc. Just get out there and start coding. Don’t be afraid to build something you are passionate about or makes the world a better place. About 2 months ago I started working on building a chat bot using the Microsoft bot framework in c# (it can also be built in node as well). I knew nothing about chat bots when I started but the content in Microsoft virtual academy and individuals on YouTube has made it very easy to learn. Honestly I am not even completely done with project but my interest in it that I shared on LinkedIn has led to job offers that have made it possible for me to better provide for my family. You can do it. Just keep learning.
Thanks for your comment
My real worry wasn’t whether I can learn programming but whether the fact that I basically stayed home for 6 years would make employers . say “ok we do need someone with his coding skills but not him - because he hasn’t had a job in 6 years”
You seem very insecure about your lack of job experience and the 6-year gap since graduation. My advice: don’t dwell on that aspect so much; don’t let it zap away all your confidence. We are all individuals and have all got strengths and weaknesses in our skillsets and pluses and minuses in our personal histories.
What you want to do is focus on your strengths when creating your resumes and cover letters, and when answering questions in your interview. Sure, you’ll have to have something to say about the 6 year gap, but there’s no reason to let the interview revolve around that. Come up with something concise to say about it that indicates you had valid personal reasons for not working during that time, but also indicates that you’re not too rusty: you’ve worked projects, taken free code camp courses, etc…
And then try to MOVE ON to talk about these courses, projects etc. Show genuine enthusiasm for the good stuff you’ve done, and for the relevant techie stuff that fascinates you!
Apply for entry level jobs or internships that look like a good match for your skillset. Understand that when you go in to interview, that other person is a human being. Like any human being, they might be decent, understanding, or they might be an arrogant jerk. Some folks like to be in positions of power, and get off making people nervous or squirm under them. If you interview with someone like that, don’t let them make you feel small and insecure. Some interviews will go great, others awful.
Remember, the interview is a two-way street, not just a tribunal where the almighty interviewer gets to judge your worthiness. As the interviewee you are there to evaluate whether you want to spend many hours of your own life with their team on their project furthering the mission of their organization. Make sure you have some good questions about what it’s like to work there.
Most of all: make sure you keep plugging away at personal projects and sharpening your skills! Your passion may very well be more valuable than work experience.
Go work for a Non-paid internship gain work job experience or part-time pay job after within 6-12 months later if you working hard the managers and supervisor will offer a paid job position because you’re showing your skills and ability your capable willing to listen to direction. that’s how you will get in a real paying job.
I’m not sure why this thread is being revived after 2 years, but I highly recommend against taking unpaid internships. You shouldn’t let a company exploit you.
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Never too late. I got my first job at 33 as a Web Developer. I have my second now as a Software Engineer. I dropped out of high school, got a GED, later went to junior college and then University. Never finished. A lot o transfers, a lot of different life experiences including becoming a Musician and doing that for a long time. No direct experience that anyone would put on a resume. I went to a bootcamp and did four months of a six month one and left after I got a job offer. I don’t think you need to go to a bootcamp. I didn’t know about things like FreeCodeCamp at the time. I would do the curriculum here and focus on a front-end role for your first job. I think the skills needed are easier to obtain and show with projects.
HTML/CSS/JavaScript and learn one framework like React. I answered another question similarly but this is what I really believe.
This is a good article I recently read about someone else getting a job from scratch: